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Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023. Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023. Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023. Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023. Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023.

☆ Former CIA Director says it'd be 'impulsive' to try to shoot down China's spy balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Former CIA Director John Brennan said it'd be "impulsive" to shoot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon. Brennan told NBC News that China may have sent the balloon to test the US' response. The US defense department said it was a spy balloon, possibly flying over sensitive US sites to collect information. The former CIA director also questioned whether Chinese President Xi Jinping was "personally aware of this balloon flight." As of Saturday afternoon, the balloon had been spotted soaring over North Carolina as it drifted east on air currents.

☆ AT&T’s fiber diet should help mitigate M&A bloat
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Jan 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - AT&T (T.N) boss John Stankey is getting the telecom titan back in its lane. The $145 billion company on Wednesday disclosed a $25 billion non-cash impairment charge partly related to its landline business. AT&T benefited in other ways, adding 656,000 net new mobile subscribers who pay monthly in the fourth quarter, far better than what Verizon Communications (VZ.N) managed. In the fourth quarter, AT&T’s average revenue per user for its fiber product was approaching $65, $10 higher than what its non-fiber service fetches. At least it’s a venture in AT&T’s wheelhouse, and a higher fiber diet should help mitigate the M&A bloat.

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Although Britain saw the same easing of wholesale energy prices, UK industry - by stark contrast - continued to contract this month. More than two thirds of the 42 economists polled by Reuters this month expect another hefty 50 basis point rate rise to 4% next week, while their average 'terminal rate' forecast implies yet another quarter point rise to 4.25% after that. Despite economic funk, the implied peak BoE rate derived from money and swaps markets shows almost another full percentage point of hikes to 4.5% before the Bank calls it quits later this summer. Either way, the eventual outcome leaves the BoE and the pound in something of a half way house. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsUK vs Euro zone economic surprise gapThe opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.

☆ Russian Wagner boss acknowledges comparison with Rasputin
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Prigozhin acknowledged only last September that he had founded the Wagner group, which has played a major role in the Russian military's attempts to capture territory in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. In recent months, Prigozhin has been seen in online videos trying to lure inmates from Russian prisons to join its ranks in Ukraine. The Financial Times was not the first to compare his role to that of the monk in the Russian imperial court - a Russian journalist made the comparison last year. Prigozhin said the comparisons were "absolutely clear" and he saw his role as bringing wayward Westerners back into line. Rasputin was assassinated in 1916 by a group of Russian noblemen who feared his growing influence on the tsarist family.

☆ Abandoned shopping carts cost taxpayers thousands of dollars
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Abandoned shopping carts are a scourge to neighborhoods, as wayward carts block intersections, sidewalks and bus stops. There is no national data on shopping cart losses, but US retailers lose an estimated tens of millions of dollars every year replacing lost and damaged carts, say shopping cart experts. They pay vendors to rescue stray carts and fork over fines to municipalities for violating laws on shopping carts. “It is the shopping cart.” Another New York Times article in 1957 called the trend “Cart-Napping.”There’s even a book, “The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification,” dedicated to the phenomenon and a system of identification for stray shopping carts, much like guides for bird-watching. Coin-lock shopping cart systems are popular in Europe, and Poulos said more US companies are requesting coin-lock systems in response to the costs of runaway shopping carts.

☆ Taiwan VP new ruling party boss sets stage for presidential run
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Taiwan Vice President William Lai was elected as the new chairman of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Sunday, setting the stage for him to run in presidential elections early next year. President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as party chairwoman in November after the DPP was trounced at local elections. Lai has not directly said whether he intends to run in the presidential vote but is widely expected to do so now he is DPP chairman. A former premier and mayor of the southern city of Tainan, Lai has been Tsai's vice president since 2020 following the DPP's landslide election win. The DPP won the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections by a landslide by pledging to defend Taiwan against China and not submit to Beijing's threats.

☆ True, a budding social platform with $15 million in backing from Microsoft veteran Paul Maritz, takes aim at Facebook by rejecting user tracking and targeted ads
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

True is another newer entrant into the social media space, long dominated by Facebook and Twitter. Bret Cox and Paul Maritz want to prove that a social media platform can be a sustainable business without tracking and selling users' every online move. "It's not nearly as lucrative as targeted advertising, but it will be sustainable," Cox said. Although he admits True is something of an "experiment" in the world of social media. Do you work in social media or are you someone else with insight to share?

☆ Djokovic outclasses Shapovalov in Adelaide to set up Medvedev semi-final
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ADELAIDE, Australia, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic will face the biggest test of his Australian Open preparations in a blockbuster semi-final with former world number one Daniil Medvedev after the Serbian beat Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-4 at the Adelaide International 1 on Friday. Canada's world number 18 Shapovalov raised his game to draw level at 3-3 in the second set but surrendered his serve after a wayward shot and a double fault as Djokovic surged ahead 5-4 before closing out the quarter-final clash on serve. Top seed Djokovic has won his previous three meetings with Medvedev, who last beat him in the 2021 U.S. Open final. Third seed Medvedev earlier advanced with a 6-3 6-3 win over compatriot Karen Khachanov in their first tour meeting since 2019 to improve his record against him to 3-1. "So I just wish him all the best for the coming weeks and the Australian Open coming up."

☆ UK's FTSE 100 falls; BAT, Frasers flag challenging outlook
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies FTSE 100 down 0.1%, FTSE 250 falls 0.2%Frasers drop to bottom of FTSEDS Smith rises on resilient demandDec 8 (Reuters) - UK's FTSE 100 was dragged lower by consumer staples and retailers on Thursday after forecasts from British American Tobacco and Frasers fuelled concerns over economic outlook. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) dipped 0.1% while the FTSE 250 was down 0.2%, as of 0949 GMT. Frasers Group (FRAS.L) was the biggest drag on retailers index (.FTNMX404010), which shed 0.9%, after the sportswear and clothing firm warned of a challenging and uncertain outlook despite posting an upbeat half-yearly profit. UK markets are bracing for a long uncertain winter amid rising borrowing costs and double-digit inflation that have sparked worker unrest in the recent past. Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ See photos from the Apollo era like never before
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Since then, Saunders has applied his technique to 400 images from the Apollo program. His book of images, “Apollo Remastered,” was published in September. During his 10,000 hours of working on Apollo images, Saunders set himself another task: solving the case of the missing lunar golf ball. Defying gravityAstronaut Alan Shepard served as the commander of NASA's Apollo 14 lunar landing mission. The late NASA astronaut, known for his zest for life, smuggled a custom 6-iron clubhead and some golf balls to the moon during Apollo 14.

☆ World Cup 1950: When the US beat England in the greatest sporting upset of all time
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —On one side of the pitch was a team made up some of the biggest names in world soccer. Described as a “real bunch of ragamuffins” by the author Geoffrey Douglas, the US beat a star-studded England side 1-0 at the 1950 World Cup. I mean, a plucky group of underdogs just beat what was generally universally recognized as the best team in the world,” Holroyd told CNN Sport. PA Images/ReutersAnd so when the 1950 World Cup approached, there was little national interest or coverage of the US’ participation. On the other side of the pond, hopes were sky high for a star-studded England team.

☆ How your checked bag gets to your destination and why some get lost, according to a ramp agent for a major airline
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Anna Dimond | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Matt is a ramp agent at LAX for a major airline who works on Thanksgiving. The bulk of his tasks, from loading bags on and off of planes to transferring them between airlines and tracking down lost luggage, was a routine affair. According to an August report from the Department of Transportation, lost luggage in the second quarter of 2022 was up just 0.02% compared to the same time period in 2019. How your luggage gets trackedA bag's airline travel journey starts as soon as a customer checks in. Once ramp agents and baggage handlers determine the owner and destination of a wayward bag, they bring it to a reroute office.

☆ England beat Pakistan to win T20 World Cup at MCG as Ben Stokes stars yet again in a final
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( David Ruse | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Ben Stokes of England celebrates victory following during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Final match between Pakistan and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on November 13, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. Ben Stokes starred in a final once again as England became dual white-ball world champions after overcoming Pakistan by five wickets to win the T20 World Cup at the MCG. England rallied to overpower New Zealand, edge past Sri Lanka and decimate India before seeing off Pakistan to end their opponents' hopes of winning the T20 World Cup for a second time and of repeating their victory over England at the MCG in the 1992 50-over final. Babar's exit came at the start of the 12th over with Pakistan 84-2 and they went on lose six wickets for 47 runs. England will remain in Australia to play a three-match one-day international series against Australia, beginning on Thursday at Adelaide before fixtures at the SCG on Saturday and MCG on November 22.

☆ Garnacho grabs late winner as Manchester United beat Fulham 2-1
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Alejandro Garnacho came off the bench to score a stoppage-time winner for Manchester United as they beat Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage in their final Premier League game before the World Cup break on Sunday. The result means Manchester United, whose next league game is at home to Nottingham Forest on Dec. 27, will celebrate Christmas in fifth place on 26 points, while Fulham, who travel to Crystal Palace on Dec. 26, are ninth on 19 points. Eriksen joked about his first Premier League goal since joining United. "I owed a few so I'm happy to be on the scoresheet in the last game before the World Cup. United midfielder Fernandes hailed young substitute Garnacho after his decisive intervention.

☆ Why China doesn't actually want to invade Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Biden is trying to reassure Beijing but also trying to deter them from using military force to coerce Taiwan." Biden, however, has gone further, repeatedly asserting that he would respond to a Chinese invasion by committing US troops. For China, the Taiwan threat gives them negotiating leverage with the US and influence over Taiwan's domestic politics. If Congress passes the Taiwan Policy Act, Taiwan will get $6.5 billion in taxpayer money to buy more US-made weaponry. The sanctions that would likely follow an invasion of Taiwan would quickly and severely restrict the country's supply of meat.

There was a lot of bleeding," Fawad Chaudhry, a spokesperson for Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, told Reuters. "I heard a burst of bullet shots after which I saw Imran Khan and his aides fall down on the truck," witness Qazzafi Butt told Reuters. "Later, a gunman shot a single shot but was grabbed by an activist of Khan's party." [1/7] Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is helped after he was shot in the shin in Wazirabad, Pakistan November 3, 2022 in this still image obtained from video. Her father and former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged in the same city in 1979 after being deposed in a military coup.

☆ Rishi Sunak offers only temporary fix for UK woes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Now that Sunak has seen off an attempted return by wayward former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, yields are down to 3.7%. About 30 billion pounds of her 45 billion pounds of unfunded tax cuts have been already reversed, leaving a narrower 40 billion pound hole. But cheaper borrowing costs hastened by Sunak’s appointment should cut the gap to just 30 billion pounds, a UK budget expert told Breakingviews. Follow @gfhay on TwitterloadingCONTEXT NEWSFormer finance minister Rishi Sunak will become Britain's next prime minister after winning the race to lead the Conservative Party. Former prime minister and rival Boris Johnson withdrew from the contest saying he could no longer unite the party.

☆ How Brex cards and software are transforming spend management by focusing on the user experience
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Brex | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Brex ends the standoff and turns corporate spending into a great employee experience by making compliance easy and automatic. It may be the necessary and exciting future of business, but it's also a headache for finance teams. As a single solution for global spend, Brex was built for distributed, international teams. It flips corporate spending policies from command and control to trust and verifyMany corporate spending policies can make expense-related conversations feel like an interrogation: What is this expense? Brex is a complete spend solution that doesn't just address the pain points of corporate spending; it reimagines corporate spending for a global, mobile, fast-paced world.

☆ Waymo to expand robotaxi service to Los Angeles
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Matt Mcfarland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington, DC CNN —Waymo, the robotaxi provider of Google’s parent company Alphabet, said Wednesday that it will expand its ridehail service to Los Angeles. It is taking steps towards offering public robotaxi trips in San Francisco as well as downtown Phoenix, which is close to Chandler. Waymo began operating robotaxis in Arizona in 2017 and opened the service to the public in October 2020. Last year one Waymo robotaxi became stranded on a road while carrying a passenger and then unexpectedly drove away as the company’s roadside assistance arrived. Google gave the first robotaxi ride in October 2015 to a blind man in Austin, Texas.

☆ BoE drawn into risky game of financial whac-a-mole
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Neil Unmack | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

On Tuesday, the UK central bank said it would buy more bonds to avert a fire sale by pension funds. But its plan to end such support on Friday is hampered by a distressed bond market, and wayward government. Prime Minister Liz Truss’s unfunded plan to cut taxes had triggered a surge in government bond yields, which in turn forced indebted pension funds to sell assets. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThere are plenty of signs that the bond market remains distressed. Without a credible fiscal strategy, investors may continue to steer clear of UK gilts.

☆ BoE’s insurance policy raises question of next act
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Oct 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The Bank of England is taking out insurance against a market meltdown. On Monday, the central bank said it was ready to double the daily limit of its bond-buying programme from 5 billion pounds to 10 billion pounds. This will cost users just 15 basis points above the base rate, although they face haircuts of up to 42%. (By Aimee Donnellan)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterFollow @Breakingviews on Twitter(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Trustbusters’ metaverse gambit
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Oct 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Mark Zuckerberg isn’t the only one making risky gambits in the metaverse. On Friday, trustbusters at the Federal Trade Commission pared back their arguments against Meta Platforms’ (META.O) acquisition of virtual reality app maker Within. The agency run by Lina Khan stepped back from initial arguments that Meta’s Beat Saber game competes directly against Within’s Supernatural fitness app. That was always an odd stretching of definitions that both limited the market to a thin slice of virtual reality and at the same time included wildly disparate apps. That resembles arguments against the 2015 merger of sterilization companies Steris and Synergy – a case the FTC lost.

☆ ByteDance might deserve its most-watched status
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It’s a good show despite a stalled initial public offering plan, a global tech rout, and a politically difficult reception for its popular short-video streaming app. The company eked out an operating profit, too, in the first three months this year. ByteDance might be eating its rival’s lunch in more ways than one. (By Yawen Chen)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterFollow @Breakingviews on Twitter(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Corporate America may be overstuffed with workers
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Oct 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The U.S. job market is still hot, and that could be a weakness. This shows some strength in the economy, just as Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell furiously hikes interest rates to fight inflation. As interest rates have risen rapidly, making people feel less wealthy, consumers have pulled back on their buying. Corporate America was caught off guard with a sudden change in demand. (By Jennifer Saba)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterFollow @Breakingviews on Twitter(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.

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